Animal care in Guate

I absolutely loved volunteering in Guatemala. Having volunteered abroad before in other places, I know that sometimes it can be difficult to adjust to a new environment, but I felt at home the second I got to my home stay with Marta. To start, the home stay is in the heart of Antigua, which is a beautiful colonial town full of culture, markets, shops, restaurants, cafes and bars. There is always something going on, whether it be ladies night at the club (free massages and manicures), free salsa and cooking lessons through Maximo Nivel, movie night at a cafe, bike tours, coffee plantation tours, live music...the list is endless! My home stay mom, Marta, made incredible meals (and there was always more if you wanted seconds) and the house was spacious and clean.

My volunteer placement was through Maximo Nivel, at a reptile rescue sanctuary, Antigua Exotic. Originally I had thought I would be working with cats and dogs, but I'm happy I got to do this instead. When else in my life would I have gotten the opportunity to wrestle an crocodile and hold a rattlesnake! I don't have a bad thing to say about my volunteer project. The project director, Danny, was full of interesting information on amphibians, reptiles, snakes and wildlife in general. Everything was super hands on, but you weren't made to do anything you weren't comfortable with. Really, there isn't a bad thing to say about my volunteer placement.

In terms of travel outside of Antigua, there are so many options. My suggestion to new volunteers would be to shop around and bargain before settling on prices for travel packages and shuttle buses. Travel can be really cheap if you are smart about it. During my five weeks, I went to Semuc Champey (beautiful limestone lagoons and waterfalls), Tikal (Mayan pyramids), did surf lessons in El Peredon, spent the weekend at Lake Atitlan, hiked the Pacayan Volcano, and visited 4 different zones of Guatemala.

Overall, this was an awesome experience, and I'm looking forward to volunteering through IVHQ again (which I am now in Peru!) and hopefully visiting Guatemala again!